Imagine Festival 2016 – Review
Another trip away from home adventure doing what I love best
As the landing gears touched down, I found myself on yet another out of state adventure chasing the music and culture that I love. This time I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, for the 3-day Imagine Music Festival held inside Atlanta Motor Speedway—September 26th-28th, 2016.
I made a quick pit stop to check into my hotel room, changed and off I was to the speedway for Day-1. Once there, Imagine showed its hiccups early on for me, as well as many other confused attendees trying to find their way into the festival. I walked around for nearly an hour looking to redeem my wristband for admittance and as mentioned, I was not alone in this ordeal. Many partiers were facing the same problem, there were no signs or workers to point in the right direction. But once I received the wristband, I literally slipped right through security. The security line was by far the easiest I’ve ever been though, and I’ve been through ALOT. They didn’t check a thing on anyone that I could see. It was quick and easy but at the same time a little unnerving.
Imagine Music Festival had the feel of a much smaller scale Electrical Daisy Carnival and as I made my way through the tunnel into the speedway, my excitement mounted as the bass began to vibrate against my chest.
This event showcased 5 different stages—Oceania, Atlantis, Amazonia, Disco Inferno and Aeria. Also included were various carnival rides and a Ferris wheel, all of which seem to be fairly consistent with
large scale festivals as of late. Interestingly enough, only 2 of the stages—Oceana and Atlantis—were available on Day-1 with the rest of the festival grounds closed off. Despite the fact, Day-1’s lineup still packed a pretty heavy punch with performances by headliners such as Snails, Steve Angello, Caspa b2b Rusko and Borgeous fresh off the release of his brand new debut album “13”.
Leaving the festival grounds that night, I couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed and somewhat let down as I was hoping for so much more. I knew that Imagine would have to step its game up for the next two days.
Day-2 of Imagine Music Festival definitely did not disappoint at all as my expectations were set very high. As I walked in, it was obvious that things had changed drastically. All 5 stages were now in full tilt and the daily lineup was a powerhouse mix of dubstep, big room, house, deep house, trance, trap, and even a little hardstyle. Performers included Zeds Dead, Showtek, Doctor P, G Jones, Cosmic Gate, Cazzette, Funtcase b2b Cookie Monsta, EDX, Pendulum, Adventure Club, Minnesota, and
Dillon Francis just to name a handful. Also included in the lineup was Dillon Francis’ alter ego DJ Hanzel as he made his very first festival appearance. Hanzel took us all “von deeper” at the Disco Inferno stage before EDX came on to close out the night with an amazing deep house set that kept all us moving from start to finish.
Day-2 undoubtedly finished off strong as headliners Adventure Club, Dillon Francis and Zeds Dead closed out the night at the main Oceana stage as fireworks popped off overhead while the totems and flags flew high amongst the crowd. On my way out, I managed to make my way across to the campgrounds to do some after hours exploring, met some amazing people and grooved at the Silent Disco for a bit before retiring for the night back at my hotel room.
Coming off of Day-2 on a high note, Imagine Music Festival kept the momentum rolling as it delivered yet another stacked lineup for its third and final day which included The Polish Ambassador, Snbrn, Arty, Grandtheft, Herobust, Beats Antique, 12th Planet, Thomas Jack, Pantyraid, Benny Benassi, 3lau, Gramatik, Excision, Nero and Borgore with much more talent rounding out for Day-3.
I met so many more amazing souls and somehow found my way up to the VIP for a brief period and got a chance to see the layout of the venue overlooking the main stage. Things got filthy with Borgore gracing the main stage followed by an epic performance by Nero. The bassheads united as Excision closed out the night as only he could while the crowd threw their “X’s” up as the dubstep blared through the speakers into the night sky.
I left the venue that night feeling incredibly blessed and thankful to be able to have been a part of Imagine Music Festival. The southern hospitality was in full effect as I met so many caring, gracious and amazing souls. Despite its slow start and missteps early on, Imagine quickly gained momentum and delivered a world class experience with incredible talents and equally incredible production with great sound quality.
If you are looking for an experience outside of California and the West Coast, consider Imagine Music Festival as one of your destinations. It promises to deliver a stellar lineup and a weekend full of people and memories that you won’t forget.
-Nick Bingham
CLICK HERE for more pictures courtesy of Imagine Music Festival
